| List Of German Divisions In Wwii |
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Upgrades and reorganizations are shown only to identify the variant names for what is notionally a single unit; other upgrades and reorganizations are deferred to the individual articles. Due to the scope of this list pre-war changes are not shown, nor are upgrades from units smaller than a division. NAME ELEMENTS NOT USUALLY TRANSLATED ;'' Grenadier '': A traditional term for heavy infantry. (Translated "Infantryman") ;'' Jäger '': A traditional term for light infantry (Translated "Hunter"). ;''Lehr'': A demonstration unit (Translated "Teach"). ;''Nummer'': "Number" (See description in Infantry Series Divisions, below). ;'' Panzer '': Armored (Translated "Tank"). ;''Sturm'': "Storm" or "Assault" (Translated "Storm"). ;'' Volk s'': "of the People" (Translated "People"). ;''zbV'': Abbreviation for "zur besonderen Verwendung" Meaning "Special Purpose" (Translated "For Special Use"). ''Volks'', ''Sturm'', and ''Grenadier'' were sometimes used simply as morale-building adjectives, often without any significance to a unit's organization or capabilities. ARMY Panzer divisions :''see also Panzer Division Numbered panzer divisions
Named panzer divisions
Light divisions The designation "Light" (''leichte'') had various meanings in the German Army of World War II. There was a series of 5 Light divisions; the first four were pre-war mechanized formations organized for use as mechanized cavalry, and the fifth was an ''ad hoc'' collection of mechanized elements rushed to Africa to bail the Italians out and organized into a division once there. All five were eventually converted to ordinary Panzer divisions.
Various other divisions were dubbed "Light" for other reasons, and are listed among the Infantry Series Divisions. Infantry series divisions Types of division in the series German infantry divisions had a variety of designations and specializations, though numbered in a single series. The major variations are as follows: ;Fortress (''Festung''): Divisions of non-standard organization used to garrison critical sites. The smaller ones might consist of only two or three battalions. ;'' Grenadier '': A morale-building honorific usually indicative of reduced strength when used alone. ;Light, '' Jäger '': Provided with partial horse or motor transport and usually lighter artillery, and reduced in size compared to an ordinary infantry division. Some of these were essentially identical to mountain divisions, and were sometimes referred to as ''Gebirgsjäger'' ("Mountain Light Infantry") divisions.
; Motorized : Provided with full motor transport for all infantry and weapons systems. Usually reduced in size compared to an ordinary infantry division. ;''Division Nummer'': A sort of placeholder division, with a number (''Nummer'') and staff but few if any combat assets. These divisions started out without any type in their name (e.g., ''Division Nr. 179''), though some acquired a type later on (e.g, ''Panzer Division Nr. 179''). ;'' Panzergrenadier '': As motorized, but with more self-propelled weapons and an added battalion of tanks or fully armored assault guns. ;Static (''bodenständige''): Deficient in transport, even enough to move its own artillery. Many of these were divisions that had been mauled on the Russian Front and were sent west to serve as coastal defense garrisons until sufficient resources were available to rehabilitate them. ;'' Volksgrenadier '': A late-war reorganization with reduced size and increased short-range firepower. Many previously destroyed or badly mauled infantry divisions were reconstituted as ''Volksgrenadier'' divisions, and new ones were raised as well. Its fighting capability was equivalent to a US-style National Guard formation. ;''zbV'': An ''ad hoc'' division created to meet a special requirement. (E.g., Division ZbV ''Afrika'' ) Most of the size reductions listed above were by about a third, either by the removal of an infantry regiment or the removal of one infantry battalion from each of the three regiments. Infantry divisions were raised in ''waves'', sets of divisions with a standardized table of organization and equipment. In general the later waves (i.e., the higher-numbered divisions) were of lower quality than the earlier ones. Numbered divisions = 1st to 99th
= 100th to 199th
= 201st to 999th
Named divisions
Mountain divisions
Ski division Cavalry divisions According to Davies, the ''Cavalry'' divisions were Mounted Infantry and the ''Cossack'' divisions were " True Cavalry ", modelled on the Russian cavalry divisions.
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